The programme is designed to fit with the current education agenda. Every Child Matters is central to its values - and the student voice and a personalised approach to teaching and learning are central to the improvements that can be made. The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) acknowledges the results achieved through the IF's work.

The national policy on and support for raising boys' achievement in primary and secondary schools is set out in the standards section of the Department for Children, Schools and Families' website.

http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/secondary
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary

If you are interested in working with the Improvement Foundation please go to How we can help or click here to contact us.

Who is involved

Participating schools usually have pupils from a range of socio-economic backgrounds, both urban and rural.

Since 2003, 145 secondary schools have so far participated in the programme in five waves. They have shown significant improvement overall, not just with their boys, but also with their girls, who have clearly benefited from the good practice encouraged by the programme.

From September 2007, the secondary schools have been joined by the first cohort of primary schools.

Please click here to go to the Birmingham Grid for Learning (BGfL) website to hear interviews from some of the boys who have recently beneffited from the programme, and from Lorrin Campbell, Programme Director.  

What we are doing

The programme follows a collaborative methodology which involves:

• Orientation day for headteacher and project manager
• Three national two-day learning workshops for teams from schools across the country
• The improvement model, including PDSA cycles and measurement of data
• A project manager training programme
• Support from the Improvement Foundation.

The workshops feature national and international speakers, and schools which have previously benefited from the programme share examples of their good practice. Help is given to select the group of boys to benefit from the programme.

The rigorous use of data to drive improvement ensures that you track your developments and have strong evidence.

Ideas that have been shown to work well so far include:

• Two teachers with different teaching styles spent time observing each other, which they found useful. PDSA cycles were used to refine the work so that it could be used as a model for staff development.
• Parents were involved in an evening event which explained about the programme, explored some of the differences between boys and girls, and looked at how parents could help with homework. In addition the school used mentoring, equipment checks, rewards for attendance, seating plans and single sex teaching.
• Year 9 pupils were given diagnostic tests to identify weaknesses, then monthly mock exams, revision sessions and four-part lessons were introduced.

Key results

All schools have reported significant improvements in ethos and culture as well as improved results, attendance, behaviour and motivation in boys. It is interesting to note that the programme has also impacted positively on girls.